Mom’s ex-lover charged with rape, murder

Emily Thoote says her ex-boyfriend was angry that she had broken up with him. Photo: Matthews Baloyi

Eight-year-old Tshepiso Thoote was raped and strangled. Her body was stuffed in between a mattress and the base of a bed afterwards.

The girl’s little body was found by police the day after her murder in the shack of someone she knew and trusted.

The ex-boyfriend of Tebogo Rasekoa’s mother Emily has been charged with her rape and murder.

The State charges that Rasekoa lured her to his shack with promises of sweets and snacks.

He made a brief appearance at the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday, after having pleaded guilty on Monday to the three charges against him of kidnapping, rape and murder.

According to court documents filed by the State, little Tshepiso was sent by her to another house close by to where they lived in Protea South on July 9 last year.

Rasekoa, 29, who was driving with an acquaintance, met Tshepiso along the road and offered her money for snacks, offering her a lift to a shop nearby.

The documents state: “Rasekoa and the eight-year-old Tshepiso were dropped off close to his home, where he sent her to the tuckshop close by, and instructed her to go back to his shack once she had bought the snacks.”

Tshepiso did as she was told. When she got back to the shack, she was raped and strangled. After raping the young girl, Rasekoa tucked her in between the bed base and mattress and fled to Tweespruit in the Free State. He was arrested by police the next day.

Tshepiso’s body was also found by police the same day. A post-mortem revealed that her death was “consistent with strangulation”.

Emily told The Star last year that she had gone to report the case to the police, after she realised that her daughter was missing.

She had recalled something her former boyfriend, who was upset with her for ending their relationship, had said.

“He told me he would do something that would cause me pain for the rest of my life. I immediately thought he had killed my child,” she said.

“I have lost my only daughter, and not a minute goes by that I do not think of her.”

The case was adjourned until Thursday next week. Rasekoa remains in custody. - The Star